The overall performance of the Drury Jazz Fall Concert on October 28 impressed me. It was different than the jazz I've listened to before because of the live setting. The band played several pieces by several arrangers, composers, musicians and bandleaders. The students performing these pieces were saxophonists, trumpeters, trombonists and rhythmists; all of which performed together beautifully. The group opened with "St. James Infirmary" arranged by Mike Kamuf. It being my first time hearing the song, it was very enjoyable to have the faster tempo, upbeat introduction to the song and then the smooth transition into a slower tempo. After the transition the viola became more apparent and it almost seemed to vary from jazz to a more classical tone. Before the trumpeter's solo the violist played a very soothing, yet upbeat solo. The texture of the ending of this song seemed a little grimy at times when the trumpet would chime in a few notes over the saxophone, almost drowning it out. The ending was forte and there was heavy emphasis on the rhythm section to make it very epic.
The next piece, "Cariba" arranged by Victor Lopez, sounded similar to bebop in my opinion. I say this because the music seemed a lot more like upbeat and was very forte. It was very interesting to listen to the guitar solo; it seemed to follow the rhythm of the drums and was definitely complex, another characteristic of bebop. The solo also sounded as if it was from a beach boys song, but with a certain level of improvisation in it that was still able to work with the rhythm of the piece. The song had very few resting moments, again able to recognize the faster tempo, but lost the swing feeling of the song closer to the close of the song. .
The next song performed by the Jazz Ensemble II was titled "Just Friends" and was arranged by Joe Jackson. It began with a few snaps and then the high hats came in heavily.
